Hey everyone! I hope you enjoy this video 😊 Don't forget to like and subscribe (if you're not a subscriber yet for whatever unknown reason?! 🤔) and let me know down below what you thought of the video and which habits you've ever dropped or picked up when you lived somewhere new! P.S. Yes, my tongue is blue, I know 🙈

Since I'm an American living in Germany, I'll give you 10 American habits I lost: 1. Wearing shoes in the house: Germans always slip out of their street shoes and into some house shoes or slippers. In fact, many Germans have "guest slippers" for when somebody comes to visit them, or frequently, polite guests will bring along their own slippers. 2. Driving everywhere: I have actually come to prefer walking places or riding my bike around town, especially since parking in Germany is hard to find. 3. Talking loudly in public: I never realized how loud we Americans tend to be when talking to each other in public. But when you are sitting in an outdoor café in Germany, and a group of American tourists passes by, you can't help but notice how incredibly loud they are in comparison to everybody else. Maybe this is because we are so amazed at how old everything here is compared to the US. 4. Holding open the door for a female: As an American guy, I was taught to treat women with respect and to be chivalrous. Now, I know that times have changed in America, too, but Germans don't do this, and quite a few German women have expressed that they find this behavior patronizing and they resent it. 5. Saying "excuse me" or "I'm sorry": While we Americans aren't quite as polite as the Canadians, we are definitely more polite than the Germans. As you have pointed out in several of your videos, Felicia, Germans are VERY direct and they don't use a lot of the verbal "nicities" that are common in the US. A good German friend of mine once told me off for constantly saying, "Entschuldigung, tut mir Leid!" To which I answered, "Entschuldigung, tut mir Leid!" ;-) 6. Standing in line: Starting in Kindergarten, we Americans learn to politely wait in line until it's our turn. But go to a German bakery or butcher's shop, and you will seek the end of the line in vain! Customers just group up in front of the counter, yet Germans consider it very rude to not wait until it's your turn. So it's up to you to notice who was already there ahead of you, and who came in after you. The salesperson does not do that for you. They usually just ask, "Who's next?" 7. Putting ice cubes in all of my drinks including water. 8. Giving driving distances in units of time: If you ask an American how far it is, say from your hotel to the airport, they will most likely tell you how long a drive it is: "The airport is a 45 minute drive from your hotel, unless you go during rush hour, then it's more like an hour and a half." Germans don't do that. They tell each other how far it is in kilometers. 9. Relaxing by going out for a drive: I used to love just taking my car for a spin out in the country or down a straight stretch of highway with my windows rolled down and some great music on the radio. But I find driving in Germany very stressful. It is a way to get from A to B, but definitely not relaxing! 10. Leaving the lights on all over the house, even when youre out: Germans are much more ecologically-minded than we Americans, who may leave the lights on in a room, not only when they are in another room, but even when they leave the house for a night out. Germans tend to only have the lights on in the room they are in at the moment, and they never leave the lights on when no one is at home!

And since most people here in the comments section mention the "dating" thing, I enjoy being able to go out with female friends and not have to worry about anybody misconstruing my intentions or a neighbor thinking I'm having an affair. I'll never forget the time my wife and I were visiting friends, and the husband said to me that he didn't want to go to this classical music concert with his wife (because he didn't really like classical music), but she had bought 2 tickets. I mentioned that I had wanted to go, but because my wife doesn't care much for classical, and I didn't want to go alone, I hadn't bothered getting a ticket. My friend said, "Take my ticket, take my wife! Heck, you can even take my car." No stress, no problems, and everybody had a nice evening.

American cities are centered around cars. Everything is organized for reaching it by car. The area for big family houses is designed to get away from by car. Most of the time there is no sidewalk to go by foot to reach a certain area. There are even primary schools in the usa which you can only reach from a highway by car. So parents have to bring their kids to school (or with a schoolbus) till they are old enough to drive. The design in which cities are build influences your way to live. Its one of the main reasons for using the car all the time.

"Dating in America has too many rules" Agree 1000% Some of my best friends in college were women and I honestly hate the attitude that guys and girls can't just be friends

One thing I remember about Germany was how we ate. Usually we ate a simple breakfast, then a big lunch. But for dinner was usually light. A soup and sandwich or a salad. In the U.S. we seem to make dinner the largest meal and then you feel tired all evening.

“I just not ready for a relationship right now”. The ‘with you’ is left out. USA here. That’s my experience.

Oh yes, the 'complaining' part is so true. I lost that habit within a week when I lived in Sweden for 5 years, and it was great! Now I'm back in Germany, and back to complaining, even though I know it's exhausting. For some weird reason, complaining seems to be considered good manners here, having some kind of soothing effect when in fact, it has the opposite effect. I suddenly realised that on one of my first days in Sweden, when I was almost offended by nobody joining me in complaining and instead people were trying to comfort me 🙈

I love traveling to Europe, because I actually lose weight (walking and healthier food) while on vacation. Not in USA

This is a habit I lost after living abroad for a while: Social drinking. In Japan, you can have as much as you like and then just take the train home. Here it's just too much of a hassle.

I like the German way of being honest and practical. It’s my favorite German thing, besides Bienenstich, and the long compound words. German thinking (mostly) makes more sense to me. Now if I can just figure out the sentence word order.

In the US (TX here), we also say "can't complain", or similar phrases like "not too shabby", "I've had worse", etc. The dry understated manner of it is just an understood comic subtlety, maybe similar phenomenon with Germans saying "da kann man nicht meckern"?

Oh damn girl look at your subscribers, you getting close to 100k. Because of your videos I have been learning German online. Auf wiedersehen

This is me with my sister, I want to walk half a mile downtown and she complains it’s too far

When I worked at Amazon, I walked an average of 15 miles per work shift. When I got off work, I was not interested in walking anywhere. If we went to the store and were parked more than 4 spaces from the door, I would just wait in the car.

I dated a German woman one summer while she was here in California on vacation. One of the things she noticed was the portions Americans eat at meals. When we would go out to dinner she could not believe how large the portions were. She rarely ate all her meal each time we went to a restaurant.

Love German Girl in America. True statement - also American's don't walk anywhere because it's too dangerous! Too many cars, too big 6 lane roads, cars don't even look for cyclists or pedestrians. Everything is bigger here, our butts are bigger too because of this stupidity.

re Walking, in fact that is what I enjoy when I visit Europe, the great transit systems and the walk-ability of the towns and cities there. I enjoy just strolling around and notice all the little things that you miss in a car.

I'm an American living for two and a half years now in Prague. For me the biggest changes are grocery shopping for one or two days instead of for a weeks worth of meals and walking and using public transportation. I grew up in California and have driven for nearly forty years until I moved here and now I can't imagine using a car for my daily routine. I'd also ride a bike more but Prague isn't very suited to bikes because of the lack of bike lanes and all of the hills in the city. All in all, I find living here to be much more pleasant than living in the US.

I spent a couple years in southern Germany and I loved the walking. Groups would form every weekend somewhere, you just had to look them up and join. Then beers afterwards. Great fun!

When I was in the US once for work, and had the weekend off, and walked from my hotel to a university campus less than 2km away and then on Monday asked the guys at the factory about the university, they were surprised: "Did you hear that? He walked all the way up to the university!" That reminded me of Back To Future III, where Marty told the bar attendees that, in the future, we'd have those automobile things, and people will at best walk for fun. I always found that to be an unrealistic/exaggerated assessment. Well. Not anymore :D

Lovely presentation as always! Thank you for the free education

I can't believe how fast your channel grew sense you hit 50,000 subs. It's amazing and I hope you enjoy each moment of your successful channel

Five years into my European adventures, my German company and a big American company had a come together meeting in Wetzlar. Our delegation was 4 Germans and me, theirs was 4 Americans and a Frenchman who was an expat about 6 month longer. He and I really hit it off and shared many expat tales over lunch. Coming back from lunch we were talking and walking. As his voice got quieter and quieter I noticed that while I had naturally walked with my Germans toward the stairs, he had naturally walked with his Americans toward the elevator for the whole two floor climb. We looked at each other across the foyer and busted out laughing.

We are so glad you're here! Be well and stay safe!

Love your vids! Ganz herzlichen Dank dafür und viele Grüße aus Irland! Mach’s gut!

I love the German criticism as long as is constructive, there're always way you can improve as a person or culture. Also, the bluntness that they have is a relief compared to other cultures like American or Latino, etc. I find people tend to be too sensitive or dramatic, most of the time, outside Germany.

My experience with restaurants English speaking countries is, that besides the music, the people tend to have really loud conversation with loud laughing and so on. I feel in Germany (and other European countries) this is considered very rude.

Great video ! Please more !!

Nice video! I read an article once that said US restaurants began a trend in the 1990's to become louder. Not just music, but no carpets, louder acoustically, etc. The reason for this was because loud would be perceived as really busy= popular/good. I wish whoever first had that idea hadn't. I hate not being able to hear people!

Awesome content!! Keep 'em coming..Danke und Bis Bald...I'm working on my German...little by little...tschüss

wow you are almost at 100k! Im so happy for you omg! Congratulations!!!1

Living abroad can change your life, if you are opened enough for a new experience and a different lifestyle you will automatically change something after a while and that's absolutely fine and properties like thinking more positive is a good one, keep that and mix it up with the good ones from Germany. People Germany have enough reasons to smile a lot more, that country accomplished a lot in a short time. Thanks for video and that big, big smile in your lovely face!!🥂🍀🌹

I loved walking all over the place when I visited Germany last summer in 2019!!! My first time in Germany and had a amazing time. I live close to downtown in Madison, Wisconsin which is very walkable since it’s a college town so I actually walk all over whenever I get the chance. I bought my first brand new car a few weeks ago but I only drive it if I have to go beyond like 4 miles or so. Otherwise, I’d much rather walk especially since parking can be tight in my area close to downtown. Madison is a great college town with our UW campus ... Go Badgers!

Great video! It's interesting to see US from a different perspective. You're near the 100,000 mark! Keep up the terrific work, it's paying off😊😊😊

Thanks for providing content during lock down. I am sure it is hard to keep your channel fresh during quarantine. I was actually in Munich when it started. My wife and I look forward to your incite and friendly face.

I am so thankful for air conditioning, the temps in a office setting can get too cold but hey at least it isn't 95 degrees in a office/building. It seems that more and more Americans are biking to work or a store to get something, I think more companies should have a 1 hour lunch for their employees, nice video😀

Hey! Great List. I agree with most everything, too. Having lived in Argentina about 9 years, I love to walk - I've noted how we Americans don't walk much, and I think that's a huge shame. So, I walk everywhere. Often I'm the only person walking, but that only means I have the sidewalks to myself! I live in a small town (650 people, more or less) so walking at night, I can just walk on the road after 10:00 p.m.! There's NOBODY out, and only a couple cars or trucks go by. The other thing - taking time to eat & enjoy a meal. In Argentina restaurants don't even open until 8:00 p.m.! But, we would make our own meals at home, and we'd eat for about 2 hours with friends, and then we'd have a cup of coffee, a light dessert, perhaps - and we'd talk, play cards, etc. for at least another hour. Even after moving back to the U.S., I still cook at home. Eating out, my family relaxes at the restaurant. We often take an hour to eat - and yes, the restaurant workers, servers, don't like it, because they're not getting as many tips!! (This is a NEGATIVE part to tipping culture.) They treat you well, as long as you eat and get out so someone else can be served - and they get more tips. Thanks for the interesting videos!

Great vid as always .

So wise beyond her young years and so adorable! Thanks for the videos!

It’s funny your video just uploaded.. I just watched a concert version of 99 red balloons by Nena in German… (great song)

Yeah, walking. We were in Washington a few years ago on holiday (2008, so just before smartphones really took off). To save cash we stayed a little outside the center around where the uni is. One day we thought we would walk to the next transit station to see how far it was and just because walking is not unusual for us (we live in Germany). Along the way we asked several people for directions and all gave us driving directions and gave us that 'you are crazy people' look when we said we were walking. After a few hours we got there and as we didn't feel like walking back, we thought we'd get the bus back. We found the right bus, got on, described our hotel (and location) and the driver said 'ah ok, yeah I know it'. I then asked if he could let us know when it was coming up so we didn't miss the stop. He said 'you must know where it is, you go the bus here'. I said 'no we didn't, we walked'. The look he gave us, he even said 'what? You walked, that's like 6 miles'.. Quite funny at the time.

We love your videos! So well done! Husband and I both studied German language but very rusty now. My great grandparents came from Germany, so I find this subject endlessly fascinating. Thank you!

Always enjoy your videos..so fun:)

Living in Finland, the need to use cash in Germany has been / will continue to be a puzzle to me. Up here, card / mobile payment is accepted virtually everywhere - even more in our neighbgouring Sweden. Cannot even recall the last time I've used cash for anything else than checking the threads on my car tyres (a 2€ coin has a 4 mm rim, handy for that). Some time in 2019, I think...

What I learned is that I probably should've been an European... Walking is fun and I love trains!

Love the video!

EXCELLENT !

I live in Cologne, Germany, and I've never experienced being judged by my outfit. Of course, I look at people and people look at me, but I see it as curiosity instead of judgement. In school and at the university people mostly wore/wear a comfortable outfit. Maybe cities differ in that aspect.

Ich muss schon sagen, dir zuzusehen hebt richtig die laune ... du hast so eine richtig positive ausstrahlung :) Wo hast du eigentlich mehr Zuschauer, in den USA oder Deutschland? Über die meisten der 10 Punkte denkt man garnicht nach ... aber wenn du das so sagst ... xD

Good video👍The dating thing surprised me, sounds like we have a lot to learn. Dining can take a long time in popular restaurants. Even if the restaurant takes reservations your table may not be ready for when you arrive. A good reason for the quick in and out in our restaurants is that the waitress gives you subtle hints to leave after you pay the bill. They make money off tips and want you to leave so a new tipping group can take the table. If you hang around too much after eating the manager may come and tell you they need the table and can you please go to the bar to chat, If you go in eat late when they are not busy you can usually hang around till closing if you buy a drink every so often

Great video Feli. I actually pretty much walk everywhere I go. I have a driver's license but I sold my car because I really wasn't using it and was paying for insurance for something I wasn't using. I do photography this my reason for walking. Service in American restaurants is typically quicker but you don't have to rush to eat and leave right away. I live not far from you in Louisville, Kentucky and the restaurant I eat at most often doesn't rush you out even if they are often on a wait list which is quite often and the music is never played at an excessive level. I always enjoy your insightful videos and look forward to watching them. Stay safe.

I giggled a little when you said France and Germany have a rivalry. Maybe it started in 1870?

I lived in Germany for two years and I agree💯

There you go! You pointed out something that always bothered me when had service jobs up north (including in Cincinnati), in the winter the buildings were heated to about boiling and in the summer I expected snow. Why could they not achieve a happy medium like we do here in Florida, in summer buildings run 76F and in winter 68F making the transition less stressful. I too like to take my time when I go out for supper. I know the waiter wants to "turn" the table, but my friends and I want to take our time, enjoy each others' company so yes, we tip extra well. Every morning I go for a three mile walk. But I would never walk or bike to work because I would have to shower and change my clothes as merely stepping foot outside in Florida initiates SWEAT! Love your posts and your schönes Lächeln.... :-)

Many of the things you speak about is really on point especially for older Americans, like myself!

I think the younger generations are scared of commitment because of the younger generations that came before them got divorced liked it was going out of style and they complained to their kids about relationships and their ex spouses. Also society has built a culture here about not committing to others or trusting them either. It’s really sad. We really should talk about things. I hope it changes back soon 🙏🏼

American 1960: Heavy dating rules America 1980: All rules up for grabs America 2000: Internet Reorganizes Remaining Rules America 2020: Heavy (Unspoken) Dating Rules

Thanks for clueing me into a feature of xpress vpn I didn't realize. I use it but didn't know I could set it up to look like I am in another country. Good video.

I completely agree on the restaurant experience . I wish it was blend of both Europe and America. The attentive service coupled with time to have some conversation.

In the US, there is a real emphasis on moving people along in restaurants. Get the order, get the food, get the check. If you stay at your table chatting without ordering more food or drinks, you are keeping them from making money from the next group to come in. In some places, they encourage a slower pace, but this seems to be the exception.

I was inspired by German walking and biking when I studied there and have continued to buck the American culture for 40 years. Thank you Germany!

Very good. Interesting.

I enjoyed listening to differences here and Germany. I forget there is a big world out there, thanks and keep it up. Remember to be careful when walking. Many people will stare at you.

When I came to the states from France I noticed I also dont walk as often, this country just seems so much bigger. Things seem farther away

Being the perpetual odd ball, I've always favored biking unless it's raining outside. Friends and family joked that they never saw me in a car unless I was a passenger.

I totally agree with the dating point of view,

I've always been fascinated with Germany. And I love your KZfaq channel.

"German mindset in a nutshell!" ... loved that one! 👍🏻

Hey Felicia, a fellow german here ^^ I gotta say I really like your vids and i agree with almost everything you say xD BUUT i gotta say that "lame excuses" are not an exclusive thing to the US :b I actually got served ALL THREE of your examples, by the same girl. sooooo..... yeah. still. MUCH LOVE!

Hi there! I just moved to Germany from California. It has been a big change! I definitely look to your videos for a lot of insight :) thank you!

I love these comparison videos. I found many of my "oddities" as an American stem from my childhood living in Europe. It's interesting to see how long some habits can last.

convinienstore: the walk over the parking lot is maybe longer than walk to the store directly?

I’m was born in the USA and I’ve lived here all my life. Dating terrifies me. What you say about dating in the USA is true.

As an American, I HATE it when stores and especially my college classrooms have the AC turned way up. I actually like it more in the winter because they have the heat on and it makes it more cozy

Wonderful. I really appreciate your analysis and comparison of the two cultures. It has validated my own on thoughts of some aspects of "American" life not being "natural" or the most beneficial.

"German girl here, and I 100% agree." American man here, and I _also_ 100% agree. I mean if several friends get together to have fun, and through the course of the evening, one by one, they leave, and the last two just happen to be one man and one woman, this does not exactly make it a date. I've never understood at what point what has occurred officially constitutes a date.

I’m Italian and lived in California for the past 20+ years (unfortunately) and I agree in full!! I miss Europe so much and can’t wait for my yearly vacation to go home (alas COVID ruined this year plan!) I’m waiting for my next vacation......,

You’re so right about walking! When I was growing up in 1950’s Germany we walked everywhere. Most people didn’t have a car. My parents often took us for a Sonntagsspaziergang (Sunday walk), usually in the forest. After I arrived in California I found one can’t really walk to the grocery store, it’s over a mile away. You can’t really carry 5 bags home walking more than a mile. There often are no sidewalks. In summer the temp is 90 at 11 AM, and at 5PM it can get to 108...... and anywhere in between. Some years ago I formed a hiking group. We would take day trips to such places as Yosemite, the coast, or other near-by State or National Parks and hike there. It was a big hit with my friends. Some moved away and continued hiking in their new locations. Where ever you are living, or traveling to, get a hiking book of the area, or check out AllTrailsdotcom and see what you might discover! This is a habit which will serve you well, even when you’re a senior citizen. 🙂

Youre great. Road to 100k

i personally think the "getting looked at all the time" might be a thing in munich but not really German in general. i live in east Germany and i did not notice this here.

Half an hour lunch break is a german thing too. :)

As a child: in my neighbourhood in Amsterdam was special housing for elder people and sometimes we used to do some chores for them and were treated with an old cookie from the cookiejar, and boy, were these soft end chewy :(. Dutch cookies mostly are crunchy, sometimes even hard (knappertjes), or sandy (sprits). If soft we call it cake, ontbijtkoek or stale. I like the German bakes and bread and we adopted a lot of it in the Netherlands.

Très bien elaboré.

My only experience of the USA is a coach trip up the East Coast. The first night we stayed at a motel in Orlando. Looking for something to eat, I went out and could see a Wendys maybe 100 yards away. Not far away to see, but in fact very difficult to get to and pretty unpleasant. It meant walking beside a multi-lane highway, then crossing 8 lanes, then across a big car park. Yep, I can see why Americans don't walk!

I've lived in Japan, the king of trains that go almost everywhere and I have definitely picked up the habit of biking and walking everywhere or sometimes taking a train. I'm moving back to USA and having to drive many places seems a bit daunting and weird. Like it's lazy to not have any exercise and stressful to drive everywhere.

Just joined your Patreon Feli

I used to have friends I could go out casually with but in the past few years that doesn't seem as easy as it used to be. I lived in Japan for several years and what I miss is the courtesy and the politeness how people greet each other.

I wanted to buy a wallet from The Ridge but then noticed that I cant put my coins and stuff in there and cried myself to sleep😂😂 (+ in some shops in my city they even take fees when you want to pay with card)

I found the dating and communication point to be very interesting. I have always thought the way we do things is a little strange. I'm going to make a little joke and say that the 20% of Germanic Europe I have in my DNA contributes to my blunt honesty. I think this is why I've had difficulty maintaining relationships and friendships in general. Communication sucks over here. Too many people want to speak in riddles and beat around the bush. Then yeah... Ghost you like you don't even exist. Hell, even my own sister did it recently. Blocked me on everything so I couldn't contact her anymore (but I know where she lives and I'm big sister 🤷‍♀️😂). All because I look at things from many perspectives and I don't necessarily always agree 100% of the time. They don't like it when I try to explain to them different ways of looking at situations instead of "taking their side". I'd rather be honest and real than fake and sugarcoat everything. Sometimes truth hurts, but I prefer it over false ideas.

San Francisco bay area, huge amount of walking trails. Walkies and hiking is BIG here

I loved "Volksmarches" when stationed in Heidleberg, early 1980s. Always fun friendly 10k walk among lots of friendly strangers, all ages, all enjoying a leisure afternoon just walking and talking. Then you get your medallion to add to your collection.

The walking thing really depends on where you live in the US. I lived in near north Chicago and drove my car maybe once per week. My girlfriend at the time didn't even own a car. Now I live in a suburb and everything is spread apart more, so you drive.

Completely agree regarding air conditioning and freezing spaces. Some of this has to do with Americans being bigger people on average. I remember rooming with friends on beach trips and our bigger friends always complained how hot our room as an insisted on cranking the AC.

This was really educational. Although I have visited other countries I have never actually lived abroad. I can relate, though, from moving from one region to another here in the US. I’m from PA, and where I lived (in Southwestern PA,) the women didn’t necessarily wear makeup when they went out. It depended on where they went. When I moved to AL, one of the first things I noticed was how women dressed up, makeup and all, just to go to the supermarket. That was one habit I hade to get used to.

I live near a great walking trail in NH. Would love to walk it with you sometime 😊🥰

As an American, who has always lived in America, I totally agree with her point on dating. American dating is entirely too complicated and serious.

I'd like to see it standard, that restaurants in America have a round of Schnapps ready at the table for when they seat people. But since this is America, I know that I am asking for too much!

Spot on

100K subs soon best of luck .